Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Now showing: Star Trek Into Darkness in theaters and IMAX near you, in case you hadn't noticed....I caught it last night and I have to say, it was a hell of a lot of fun. This summer is starting off to be an excellent summer of escapism blockbusters, finally...finally these films seem to be living up to their hype. Either that or I'm just more easily entertained these days. Well that's a discussion for another day.

If...and I mean if, I wanted to be an asshole and complain about this movie, I'd probably say that it is almost too relentless; it's basically non-stop from start to finish. There are quiet moments here and there for a laugh for for say something like this:

(click on this for a story on this gratuitous underwear shot)

(for a story on Molo's Sketchbook's usage of this gratuitious shot ...well...too bad)

But overall it's non stop from the get-go. Almost to the point of overwhelming the story...I still feel like I'm catching my breath a bit.

But damn, they did a great job - there's a lot of well done tie-in to Star Trek 2, done very cleverly and amusingly and with homage. The script is spot on, the casting continues to be very impressive - all of the previous cast returns and the addition of Robocop as a Star Fleet Admiral is nice (Peter Weller, to the uninformed). The directing, the acting, including the new villain...all done well.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Look, if you are at all on the fence about Iron Man 3, then just get your ass off the couch and go see it.

Otherwise you'll probably get caught up in Star Trek and Superman and Thor and Pacific Rim and Wolverine and Monsters Inc 3 and all the other summer blockbusters and let this one slip by. Don't do that, this may well end up being the best popcorn movie of the summer.

Then again, maybe not, this year looks about 100x better for action flicks than last year. Iron Man 3 was a great way to start. It's an enjoyable romp - dizzying, fun, clever at times. The villains are strong, which seems to be such a hard thing to do these days, I mean when has there been a decent villain lately? Loki? Please. The villains from the recent Bond flicks? Meh....whatever happened to Hans Gruber? Well, Ben Kingsley does a good job of it here - I don't want to give tooooooo much away, but he's quite amusing in his role, and Guy (cheekbones) Pearce is fairly decent himself. Good villains are so important for a good action flick.

Aside - remember Val Kilmer in The Saint? I think Guy studied up on that flick for his initial scenes in IM3 - I swear I was looking at Simon Templar (had to look up that character name). Come to think of it, both movies feature a super-attractive lady scientist with an amazing scientific, volatile, breakthrough that is in danger of falling into the wrong hands....this movie actually owes a small debt to that fun late 90s flick...

Any who, where was I...Guy Pearce is such a strange actor, he's occasionally very excellent (Memento, The Proposition - man that is such a good movie) but I can't get a bead on him. Is he going to be a good guy or a bad guy, or both, or just a side character actor? No doubt that's why they cast him to this role...but I digress.

Back to the actual film - There's a lot going on all the time w/out all that much really going on - Tony's dealing with post saving the world anxiety, the US is under serious terrorist bombing, people are blowing up, they painted Don Cheadle's suit all 'Merican.... It's kind of overwhelming in it's action sequences, but it is the good kind of overwhelming...although, I honestly found the 3D distracting. I'm done with 3D, I don't like having to turn my head to see stuff on the side of the screen be in focus. What's the point really? Moving on...there's some fun dialog with a kid even thrown into this one. The only bit that felt a bit forced is some of the Pepper/Tony drama about him withdrawing into his work instead of looking to her for support/what not...I mean it was fine and all, but you don't always have to really lay on these character lessons so thick, do you? Look I'm talking around it a bit so as to not spoil the film entirely, so go ahead and ignore this, and we can talk about it another time, dear reader. Point is they almost really really nailed it, and they did a valiant job, considering it's a Hollywood action summer blockbuster.

And now, a running short list of all the films I have watched in 2013,
new and old, ranked by their Molos (remember, the Molo Scale goes up to 5) 2013
films are highlighted in bold and there is a running top 10 list of 2013
at the bottom.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

I watched a lot of "meh" movies in April, mostly on dvd, but did see one interesting flick in the theaters - let's start with that one:

CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS:

The Place Beyond the Pines

4 Molos

Yes Ryan Gosling is essentially playing the same role as he did in Drive - just a little more hick and a little less...simpleton. Never-the-less this film is very interesting. It has an excellent, surprising structure, essentially 3 acts, following 3 very related story lines - I really thought the movie was going to end at least 3 different times, but I'm glad it didn't. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that this is a movie that is reaching, the director is trying some tricky things here and while it doesn't all work, the attempt is very enjoyable. It's by Derek Cianfrance, same writer director as Blue Valentine, and is very much a film about guys and about fatherhood. Plus there is a dirt bike in it. Dir/Writer Derek Cianfrance. Stars: Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, Bradley Cooper (who is very good), and more.

Evil Dead

3 Molos

I'm giving this a healthy 3 Molos mainly because there is some wit, and some gore, but mostly because all the effects are done physically - there are zero digital effects, even the blood rain is actual blood rain. That is very rare these days, but the physicality of these sequences is all the more beautifully troubling for it. A remake of the classic Sam Raimi film, incase you were born yesterday. Director Fede AlverezStarring: several victems.

PS it's got nothing on this classic:

CURRENTLY STREAMING/DVD/WHAT-NOT:

Little Birds

2 Molos

I read this big New Yorker interview with the writer/director of this movie, Elgin James, who is all the rage in Hollywood these days- he's supposed to be an expert on adolescent youth, especially from a female standpoint because of his film, Little Birds. But the thing is, this is not a very good movie. Its full of cliche and it's boring and the best thing it has going for it is the location in the first half, the Salton Sea, which is very filmable. Elgin said that he originally wrote this script from a boy's point of view, and that it references a lot of his own personal street experiences....well maybe he should have stuck with keeping it a boy's movie. I mean sure we need more stories with interesting female characters, but this is not a good example. Dir/wri Elgin James Starring Juno Temple, Kay Panabaker, Kate Bosworth

Life of Pi

3 Molos

Everyone, or maybe it was only one person, said I should see this for the visuals, and yeah, I suppose the visuals were good - I really enjoyed the "island" stuff - that was weird. But the tale, the morality, the "lesson"....again....meh. Entertainingly fluffy stuff. The digital tiger was impressive as well, but man, what if it had been a real tiger?! Director Ang Lee Suraj Sharma and a lot of digital creations

The Hobbit

2 Molos

Wake me up when they reach lonely mountain.

Director: Peter Jackson Starring: lots of beards.

Magic Mike

3.5 Molos

Smart, funny, entertaining and heartfelt - not exactly the sort of review you might expect from a movie about male stripping, eh? Steven Soderbergh, writer, director, says he's done with the biz, but man, a guy who can take something like this and make it so watchable....that's just a shame. And you know what, Channing Tatum is turning into a very good actor. I do kind of feel like they missed the boat on having Mikey Rourke as a run-down aging dancer though...surely there could have been a role for him in here somewhere. Dir Soderberg. Starring Channing Tatum, Mathew McConaughney, Olivia Munn.

Searching for Sugarman

3 Molos

This highly acclaimed documentary about a "lost" musician who doesn't know how big he is in South Africa and who everyone in South Africa thinks is long dead is pretty fascinating, but not quite the bees knees. I think to me, the most interesting thing about this story is what Rodriguez, the "sugarman" in question, does with his life after he is rediscovered.

I suppose it brings up some questions of what it means to be an artist - how your work can have a life on it's own that is really separated from you as in individual, but that may be a whole other discussion. Director Mark Bendjelloul Starring Rodriguez and his friends, family and fans. And Detroit.

Lawless

2 Molos

Pretty much a rambling, poorly directed mess that misses the opportunity to really use Tom Hardy's charming hulk to good affect and wastes Gary Oldman, which is it's own crime. Tries to get Guy Pierce going as the evil hand of the law, but that falls flat as well. Blarg. Directed by a John Hillcoat, written by Nick Cave (that's a shame), and starring Guy Pierce, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, and Shia LaBeouf. Wasted cast.

Perks of Being a Wallflower

3.5 Molos

Contemporary update on the whole weird-kid-in-high-school-doesn't-fit-in-until-he-does kind of theme. Done with plenty of charm and fun, while cramming in so many high school cliches. It's like an entire season of My So-Called Life crammed into one movie, but somehow it still works. Much credit must be given to the young actors and of course the writer/director Stephen Chobsky, who was working from his own novel. Even the heavy-handed moments are handled w/ delicacy. Director/writer Chobsky. Starring Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller, and Paul Rudd as a the cool teacher...duh.

Jack Reacher

1 Molo

Not even the incomparable Werner Herzog as the icy mastermind who chewed off his own fingers to survive Siberian prison can save this woeful film. Starring a robot version of Tom Cruise and featuring Robert Duvall, who must need some $$ for retirement or something. Written/directed by Christopher McQuiquarrie...That's the same guy who wrote The Usual Suspects...so what the hell happened with this movie? I can only image it was ruined by producers and Cruise. Fun note: He also has written the screenplay for Top Gun 2. That's right...Top Gun 2, which is in pre-production.

And now, a running short list of all the films I have watched in 2013,
new and old, ranked by their Molos (remember, the Molo Scale goes up to 5) 2013
films are highlighted in bold and there is a running top 10 list of 2013
at the bottom.